2020
Natura Croatica, Vol. 29 No.2
Abstract
F. judaica subsp. insignis is a rare taxon in Europe. So far, this taxon has been reported only in Croatia, from a few localities along the Eastern Adriatic coast. F. judaica subsp. insignis is now reported for the first time for the flora of Bosnia and Herzegovina, and its distribution is extended to three new localities in Dalmatia.
Keywords
Dalmatia, distribution, flora, Fumaria, Herzegovina, new taxon
Abstract
Here we present new records of two rare tiger beetles in Croatia, their distribution and habitat selection. Cylindera trisignata trisignata (Dejean, 1822) was recorded in Croatia, for the first time in 115 years, on Mljet Island in Blace Bay. Specimens were collected on a sandy beach, 5 – 6 m from the water’s edge sea coast. Cylindera arenaria viennensis (Schrank, 1781) was found in Croatia, for the first time in 67 years, in Podravina, in Kloštar Podravski. It was collected in an area previously exploited for sand mining, which was later abandoned and left to the natural succession. Both species were recorded in rare natural or semi-natural sandy habitat types that are endangered in Croatia. The survival of these and other psammophilous species depends on the suitable management and protection of sandy habitats.
Keywords
Cylindera trisignata trisignata, Cylindera arenaria viennensis, new records, sandy habitats, coastal dunes, sand dunes, embryonic shifting dunes, Pannonic inland dunes
Abstract
The daggerfly, Tachypeza yinyang Papp & Földváry, 2002, originally described from Hungary is recorded for the first time in Croatia. Additional notes on its description and illustrations of habitus and male terminalia are provided.
Keywords
Hybotidae, Tachypeza, new record, Croatia
Abstract
The Australian red gum lerp psyllid Glycaspis brimblecombei Moore, 1964 is recorded for the first time in Croatia. In the paper, a brief overview of the new pest with the locality of its first occurrence is provided.
Keywords
psyllids, Glycaspis brimblecombei, first record, Croatia
Abstract
The paper deals with the problem of natural resource management in Hutovo Blato Nature Park Blato in Bosnia and Herzegovina. The official policy for the protection of Mediterranean wetlands has put to the forefront the problem of exploiting the abundant but limited natural resources such as water, agricultural land, fish stocks and wetland birds. A quarter of a century after the establishment of the Nature Park the problem of nature resource management is more troubled than ever before. This research aims to define the primary stakeholder groups in the area that question and challenge the official policy of nature protection and to analyse their points of view and attitudes. The stakeholder analysis relates to analysis of endangered animal species and vegetation and issues that are results of stakeholders’ activities.
Keywords
Hutovo Blato, wetlands, nature resource management, Nature Park, environment
Abstract
The first record of the terrestrial green alga Trentepohlia aurea for Croatia was made in 1890 in the area of the Krka River, and has remained until this day the only record of this globally widespread species in the country. During studies related to aquatic vegetation, the species was finally rediscovered from the area of Plitvice Lakes, in the Gorski kotar region and near Vukova Gorica village, after 130 years during which no records were made. All recorded populations formed round, woolly, orange-red patches on the surface of rocks and concrete walls, partly forming a community with bryophytes and lichens. In some cases in these mixed communities, Trentepohlia thalli overgrew bryophytes blocking their access to nutrients, water and light. This long period of lack of records of T. aurea in Croatia is mostly a consequence of the discontinuity in research on certain algal groups in Croatia.
Keywords
Čabranka River, Gorski kotar, Kupa River, Plitvice Lakes, terrestrial algae, vegetation relevé
Abstract
The stone crayfish Austropotamobius torrentium (Schrank, 1803) is a threatened native European freshwater crayfish species for which Natura 2000 network represents the most important conservation effort at the European level. In Croatia, there are altogether 25 Natura 2000 sites defined specifically for this species. In the present study, we aimed to assess the effectiveness of Natura 2000 sites in preserving stone crayfish diversity through gap analysis, a GIS-based approach that overlays species distribution data on a map of designated Natura 2000 sites. Our results showed that the existing Natura 2000 network in Croatia encompasses most of the areas with a high diversity of A. torrentium; currently designated sites harbour 73.3% of recorded A. torrentium populations. Future conservation planning efforts, and possible expansion of Natura 2000, should be focused on newly discovered A. torrentium populations that present divergent evolutionary lineages.
Keywords
Austropotamobius torrentium, Astacidae, gap analysis, conservation planning, biodiver- sity conservation
Abstract
In 2016 and 2017 a survey of the butterflies and moth fauna of the island of Lokrum, Dubrovnik was carried out. A total of 208 species were recorded, which, together with 15 species from the literature, raised the total number of known species to 223. The results of our survey can be used as a baseline for the study of future changes in the Lepidoptera composition on the island. In comparison with the literature records, eight butterfly species can be regarded as extinct from the island. The most probable reason for extinction is the degradation of the grassland habitats due to the natural succession as well as the introduction of the European Rabbit and Indian Peafowl. Their presence has probably had a tremendously detrimental effect on the native flora and fauna of the island. To conserve the Lepidoptera fauna of the island, and the still remaining biodiversity, immediate eradication of these introduced species is needed.
Keywords
Croatia, Adriatic islands, Elafiti, invasive species, distribution
Abstract
In the urban area of Banja Luka, 77 species of alien plants have been found, most of them neophytes (64.94%) while a smaller percentage are archeophytes (35.06%). Most of the plants originate from America (34), and Asiatic species rank second (17). Most of the alien plants belong to the Compositae family, in terms of life form are therophytes, and intention has been involved in their arrival in this area.The anthropogenic change indicator values have been shown to have a significant anthropogenic impact on the overall flora.
Keywords
Alien plants, Banja Luka, urban flora
Abstract
As many as 963 herbarium sheets featuring 76 aquatic plant taxa from the ZA collection were digitised and published online through the Virtual Herbarium. Aquatic plants have been collected over a period of 176 years, with three peaks (second decade of the 20th century, in the 1940s and 1950s, and in the current decade). Most of the specimens were collected in Croatia and a smaller number in neighbouring and geographically close countries. The importance of the collection is expressed through the specimens of many rare and threatened species, because it represents the only evidence of their presence in Croatia (the regionally extinct Caldessia parnassifolia, as well as Luronium natans, Callitriche platycarpa, C. truncata, C. hermaphroditica, Potamogeton alpinus, P. compressus, P. polygonifolius, Nuphar × spenneriana and Sparganium minimum). The collection in ZA is a valuable source of data about the historical and recent distribution of aquatic plants that constitute a foundation for the estimation of distribution changes, threat assessment and conservation policies.
Keywords
aquatic macrophytes, digitisation, Flora Croatica Database, virtual herbarium
Abstract
Freshwater reefs (known as tufa barriers) are special karst features recognized for highly heterogeneous habitat structures, complex hydrogeological features, and unique macrozoobenthos drift (downstream dispersal) patterns. Our study objective was to investigate diel and seasonal drift patterns between barriers and pools, both composed of moss-rich and fishless mesohabitat types, aligned on a small spatial scale within the karst, tufa-precipitating Plitvice Lakes hydrosystem. We monthly sampled drift at the two mesohabitat types (barriers and pools) during midday and dusk and examined quantitative and qualitative drift compositions, including drifting invertebrates, moss, and associated particulate organic and inorganic matter (APOIM). Barriers displayed higher invertebrate drift densities than those of pools. The same pattern was observed for moss and APOIM. At both mesohabitat types, invertebrate drift showed peak but highly variable densities during late spring and summer (mean >100 individuals m-3), whereas during late winter and early spring the drift densities were 5-fold lower than those densities. The nonmetric multidimensional scaling analysis revealed that invertebrate drift seasonality was influenced by seasonal drift patterns of aquatic moss and moss-dwelling invertebrate taxa. Adult and/or larval Riolus spp. and larval Hemerodromia spp. were found to be the most significant for the separation of midday and dusk within the NMDS ordination of barriers and pools. At barriers, midday drift densities of invertebrates, moss, and APOIM were higher than the respective dusk records. Within pools, invertebrate drift was largely aperiodic. We suggest that increased midday and/or aperiodic drift are a consequence of the lack of fish between barrier- and pool-mesohabitats. Our results further indicated that aquatic invertebrates inhabiting fast-flowing barriers and slow-flowing pools mostly exhibit “passive drift” mediated by transport agents such as water flow and dislodged aquatic vegetation. The observed spatio-temporal drift patterns are also likely influenced by ontogenetic shifts in drift periodicity (i.e., shifts depending on the development stage and morphological characteristics of the individual taxa) as well as benthic distribution of moss-dwelling invertebrate taxa. * corresponding author 186 Sertić Perić M. et al.: Freshwater reefs as mesohabitats for the assessment of diel invertebrate drift patterns We can conclude that biotic (vs. abiotic) controls of drift are likely minimized in the fishless case of the freshwater reefs and associated barrier–pool sequences within Plitvice Lakes hydrosystem.
Keywords
aquatic invertebrates; drift periodicity; dispersal; karst; flow velocity